


The Overpass

by enbyred



Series: Pray for the Wicked [9]
Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Angst, F/M, Hurt/Comfort, Reconciliation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-02
Updated: 2019-04-02
Packaged: 2020-01-01 06:21:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,731
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18330371
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/enbyred/pseuds/enbyred
Summary: Felix left Paris five years ago after someone revealed his identity to the press. Now he’s back, and it’s impossible to pretend everything’s okay with Bridgette.





	The Overpass

**Author's Note:**

> Based off Panic! at the Disco's [The Overpass](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cz3kA9wVt70)  
> Best read after [(Fuck A) Silver Lining](https://archiveofourown.org/works/17924261)

It had been a long time since Felix had been in Paris, the city of his childhood, of his father, of his first love. The brisk fall wind blew with it memories of each area he passed as he walked along the street. That was where his mother had taken him to get away from his father for a weekend. That was the playground to which his mother took him when he was small. That was where he met Nino Lahiffe, the boy who hated him upon meeting, but didn't hesitate to take Felix home for dinner the day he ran away. That was where Bridgette took him on their first date. And that was where they broke up.

He stopped on the Lover's Bridge to gaze out at the Seine, glaring down at the water as though it had wronged him.

"Ah, Andre knows lost love when he sees it."

Felix sighed and rolled his eyes. Of course Andre was there with his lovers ice cream and whatever psychic ability he claimed to have. Might as well get it over with.

"Well, Monsieur Andre,” he replied wistfully, “It's difficult to lose love when it’s your own fault for throwing it away.”

Andre was quiet for a moment before retreating behind his ice cream stand. Assuming the conversation was over and that he had made Andre sufficiently uncomfortable, Felix took a step to leave.

A gentle hand landed on his shoulder, stopping him, and when he turned, Andre was holding out a cone with three scoops of ice cream: red, dark blue, and white. He let himself smile sadly at the ice cream and take it from the vendor.

"How much do I owe you?" he asked, reaching into his pocket.

Andre shook his head. "No charge for the brokenhearted young man. The only payment I need is your promise to go and speak with the one you love. Would you do that for Andre?"

It was a large reason why he finally got himself back to Paris. He had to talk to Bridgette. He had to see her. There was no way she would want to see him, though. It was a hopeless journey. He had refused to make things work after the accidental reveal of their identities to Paris. Bridgette told him as their relationship crumbled that she had to be with someone who gave her genuine love and support instead of someone whose ego she had to keep stroked, someone who decided that his emotional needs were more important than hers. "There's no give and take," she had said. "You just take."

The cone started to crack under Felix's grip. He stopped squeezing it so tightly, not having noticed before that he was doing it, and looked down at his shoes.

"She's not going to want to see me, Andre."

"Sometimes," Andre said gently, "what we want is not necessarily what we need. If you need to see her, then see her. There are things the two of you must discuss. You came all this way for her, didn't you?"

Slowly, Felix nodded. "I did." He looked back up at Andre and smiled. "It's a little late to back out now, I think. I came all the way from Greece just to have a chance to talk to her." Felix placed a hand on Andre's arm. "Thank you. No matter how it turns out, I need to see her."

Andre grinned and motioned for Felix to go. He did. He turned and ran off the bridge, being careful not to drop the ice cream. Based on the time, he knew exactly where Bridgette should be in her patrol route. Hawkmoth was long gone, but that didn't mean that Paris didn't need Ladybug. She was their symbol of protection, she made them feel safe. And besides, she loved being Ladybug.

"Plagg," Felix quietly called his Kwami upon ducking into an alley. The black cat swooped in front of him, and before he could make a sarcastic comment about how _t_ _ hrilled _  Bridgette would be, Felix tossed the ice cream for Plagg to catch and said, "Claws out."

He had patrolled and run through countless cities, but there was nothing quite like running through Paris, where he became Chat Noir, where he became himself. He bounded over rooftops and ran through the streets and leaped between buildings and ran and ran and ran. It was only once he reached the roof of Notre Dame that he finally stopped, looking out at the lights of his city. He had forgotten how fond he was of Paris. But never of how fond he was of Bridgette.

Feet hit the rooftop behind him, but she said nothing. Felix turned and saw his Ladybug. She had cut her hair. Instead of ribbons in her pigtails, she had a red headband that tied at the back, letting long ribbons flow from the knot. She had black boots that came over her knees and pointed on the sides - like the ones on the original version of his own costume.

"So that's where my belt went," she said, crossing her arms and smirking. Felix looked down at his gold belt that fastened his tail in place.

"Only fair, since you took my boots," he replied with a gesture to her outfit. He took a step toward her. "I've missed you."

Ladybug kept the distance between them, taking half a step back. "Good. The way you left without saying goodbye, I would hope that you would feel badly about that."

Felix dipped his head in shame, cat ears flattening. He could barely hear his own voice when he said, "I'm sorry, Bridgette." He took a step back and sat cross-legged on the roof, staring at his gloved hands.

A few moments passed between them. Felix wasn't sure how long. It could have been ten seconds, it could have been ten minutes. It felt like years. He felt himself growing old as he sat there, weight on his chest growing heavier. It only got worse as Ladybug quietly stepped toward him and sat to mirror him.

"I've spent the past five years mad at you," she said, a bite to her voice. "I tried to forget about you. I tried to pretend that you didn't exist. Master Fu permanently assigned the Fox as my partner. Do you have any idea how hard it is to switch from the 'Ladybug and Chat Noir' duo to 'Ladybug and Rena Rouge'? Ladybug and Chat Noir, we always just...fit. We went together, you know? It was balance. No matter how crazy you drove me while trying to break that stupid curse, and no matter how much you hated me when I kept asking you out, we were balanced. Rena and I, sure, we work together. We fit pretty well. But it's kind of like...like when you're solving a jigsaw puzzle and there's a piece that looks like it  _ should _  go there, the colors are just about right, the shape looks like it should just slide right in, but you have trouble attaching it, and you realize that they don't fit very well together because that piece had a perfect match, and you were trying to force something that wasn't supposed to be." She sighed and sat back. "My perfect piece left, which made me think that he was telling me that he didn't fit with me as well as I thought he did. So Master Fu and I put in a piece that looked like it should be perfect, and I love her, she's my best friend, but she's not you. She's not Chat Noir. Do you know how annoying it is to have perpetually good luck without anyone to balance that out?" Felix let out a short laugh and a corner of Bridgette's lips twitched up. "Right, you don't have good luck to balance out Plagg. So at least you know what that's like."

Felix wiped tears from his eyes and sniffed. "I'm sorry, Bridgette. You knew that I couldn't stay here, and I knew that you couldn't leave. Not just because of Ladybug, but because Paris is your home. It's where you belong, and I...I just...don't." Finally looking back up at her, Felix reached out without touching her. "I feel the same way about Paris that you do about Rena. Everywhere I go, there's something painful to remember. Being here  _ hurts _  me. I can't do it. I love you, Bridgette. I love you so much. But I have to take care of myself. I can't force myself to stay here. Staying for you would mean putting us both in an unhealthy place, and I can't do that." He covered his face with his hands and crumpled in on himself.

A soft hand caressed his temple and wandered into his hair, combing her fingers gently through it. He pushed himself into the contact.

"Your hair's gotten longer," Ladybug whispered. "It suits you, Kitty."

He let himself cry, his shoulders shuddering as he gasped for breath. Bridgette shifted so she could sit closer to him, stroking his back with her head leaned on his shoulder.

"Nobody wins when someone's in pain," she told him. "I'm glad that we finally have a chance to work through all this. I'll tell you what." She took his hands from his face and wiped his tears away with gloved hands. "We can be friends, under certain conditions. You don't have to stay in Paris, but wherever you go, you need to go to counseling and work things out with yourself. Like you said, you have to take care of yourself and make sure that you're healthy. So while you get better, I'll work through my anger at you, and we'll get better together. Sound good?"

All he could do was nod and reach out to her again. She accepted and embraced him. 

“Bridgette?” he whispered.

She stroked the back of his head. “Hmm?”

“Do you want to go get ice cream?”

She let out a light laugh and said, “Sure, Felix. Let’s go get ice cream.”

They stood and she took his hand to lead him back to Andre’s. It was different from when he had left. They were different. They were two completely different puzzle pieces than they used to be, but somehow, they were still meant to fit with each other.


End file.
